The Diary Game 21/03/2022 - Formula 1 in Bahrain: Ferrari doubles and shows that this year they have a chance at the title.
I was excited about the first race of the season, it seems that the year 2022 will bring us an excellent competition. Ferrari now looks like a team fighting for 1-2 places, something we haven't seen for many seasons.
This thing was outlined in the qualifiers, when Leclerc took pole position and Sainz 3rd place. It was then seen even better in the race, when Leclerc could not be overtaken. Verstappen tried to overtake after the start in three different laps, but in each of them he overtook in a corner and then Leclerc regained his place in the next. After each lap, the time difference between the two increased until Verstappen came out of the DRS second and stayed behind.
Both Red Bull cars abandoned a few laps before the end and probably with the same technical problem. If you look only at the final standings, you could say that the Ferrari victory is not conclusive for the performance proved by the Italians' cars, but if you look at each lap of the race, this is the conclusion. Even after a safety car that brought Verstappen and Leclerc back together, the Dutchman still could not overtake. Or to put it another way, think that Leclerc made a triple, took pole position, won the race and the fastest lap.
So we had the first double Ferrari in many years. I think there is another race inside the team now. Leclerc (born in Monaco in 1997) and Sainz (Spain, 1994) are quite similar drivers in terms of talent, and in previous years there was not much need for team order between them, but at most punctual in certain races when one was obvious. faster than another. Now, however, they both want to get as many points in the first races because the inevitable moment will come when the team leaders will say that the driver with more points after 5-6 races is the main one, and the second driver must It helps him win, not steal points.
Hamilton finished 3rd and Russell 4th, but that was because Verstappen and Perez dropped out. 3 and 4 were unexpected places for them. As things stand in the race, Ferrari and Red Bull are the first two teams of this season, and Mercedes is in 3rd place, even if they have now taken advantage of the Red Bull withdrawal. At one point Hamilton was a minute away from the race leader, for example.
Red Bull and Alphatauri appear to have similar battery or engine problems. No wonder they have similar systems based on last year's Honda engine, now officially called the Red Bull Powertrains, that Red Bull has taken over their investment and development. They will probably be resolved in the future, the cause must be identified and the reliability of those parts increased. Such things still happen in the first races. Verstappen, however, I think is worried that Leclerc was faster than him in qualifying and in the race.
It seems to me that the Haas team, which last year had no points, started well. Magnussen finished in 5th place, Mick Schumacher in 12th, but with a lot of bad luck in the end, he could have been in 10th place. his first race. Tsunoda finished 8th, ahead of Alonso, which again shows that he is a future driver.
McLaren had a very weak race, both drivers being consistently in the last part of the standings. They finished 14th and 15th, but if they hadn't left the Red Bulls a few laps before the final, it would have been 16th and 17th places for them. Last year, McLaren finished the championship in 4th place. As they presented themselves at yesterday's race, this year I think they will be lower, if they do not solve the various problems of the cars. Renault, but maybe also Haas, Alphatauri and Alfa Romeo have chances to be superior if things do not evolve for the better.
Personally, I want to see a return of Ferrari, as was Schumacher's era. At the moment, however, we cannot speak of a clear domination as in those years. But I like to see three teams fighting for victory, not two like last year. Considering that Mercedes is improving the car a bit, this year we will see three teams fighting at the top, which means a bigger show. So far, so good. I think the rules had to be changed to give 3 points to the pole position qualifier.
It seems too easy to give a point for the fastest lap, which can be done with a strategic change of tires in the penultimate lap of the race, but the driver who is the fastest in the whole qualifying session receives nothing but the first place on the starting grid, which is often not such a big advantage.
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Bahrain GP Review - Leclerc leads incredible Ferrari 1-2, Red Bull suffer double
i missed the race , finally ferrari is back
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È stato un entusiasmante amico di gara @alein, anche se la stagione sta iniziando, la Ferrari sembra forte, si spera che rimanga così per tutto il campionato.
UUhh che bello! Sei appassionato di F1? Non ho visto nulla di questo primmo gran premio. Norris mi sembra che sia andato malissimo... confermi?
Non credo che Norris sarà un protagonista... almeno non in questa stagione.
Troppo giovane secondo me.
Sembra anche che la McLaren non vada tanto bene